Offshore Combatant Vessel

Australian Defence project SEA 1180, proposes to replace patrol, mine and survey ships with one design of "Offshore Combatant Vessel" (OCV). Containerized equipment would be placed on the ships temporarily to suit the mission. The obvious design for this would be the Austal Multi Role Vessel (MRV 80). This is a trimaran, which looks like a patrol boat at the front and a car ferry at the back. The proposed MRV 80 is about 50% longer and heavier than the current Armidale class patrol boa,. Due to the trimaran design the MRV 80 is twice as wide as the patrol boats, providing room for a helicopter flight deck and hangar, as well as 500m2 of covered space to accommodate cargo, vehicles, or containerized equipment.

The MRV 80 resembles the US  Independence class littoral combat vessel from the same designers. But the MRV 80 is smaller and leaves out the high tech weaponry and complex systems of the LCS.  The LCS has a stern door for launching boats and sensors at sea, with a side ramp for loading equipment in port. In contrast the MRV 80 has boats stored in open areas on each side and a stern ramp for loading equipment. The stern ramp is based on a proven design used on car ferries and might be used to launch sensors at sea and transfer cargo while underway, as well as in port.